Collawn And Lisella Coming Back For 2021 Season

BOULDER — After losing the 2020 NCAA women's lacrosse season to Covid-19, many spring sport seniors were given the opportunity to come back for another campaign. Two of CU's eight lacrosse seniors, Anna Collawn and Julia Lisella, have decided to take the NCAA and the University of Colorado up on the offer and will be back in uniform for the 2021 season.

"This process has been hard for our entire senior class and we are so proud of each and every one of them," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "While no one dreams of their senior year being cut short, each of them has had a huge impact on our program that will never be forgotten. We are excited that Julia and Anna have decided to return for their extra year of eligibility. Both have been tremendous leaders for us on and off the field. We expect them to have a continued impact for us on the defensive end and are excited to be returning an even more veteran defensive unit in 2020-2021."

Collawn, a defender from Raleigh, N.C., has played in 41 games for the Buffs. She has played many roles on the team as an attacker and midfielder, before moving to defender. Collawn has recorded nine goals on 26 shots, as well as 48 ground balls, 11 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers. Her move to defense has proven to be a good one for her and the Buffaloes. During the 2019 campaign, she recorded 18 caused turnovers in 19 games, which included a career-high five against Stanford on April 19.

Lisella has collected a 26-14 record as CU's starting goalkeeper during the last three seasons. In that time, the Littleton, Colo. native has made 376 saves and owns a 48.7 save percentage. Lisella has been part of Colorado's dominating defense, allowing just 9.70 goals per game. In 21 of 40 games, she has recorded at least 10 saves. Her career-high of 16 saves came on March 18, 2018, against Stanford in the Pac-12 Conference opener. She was named the 2018 IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year and the earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors that same year. In 2019 she was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team.

Both have also seen success in the classroom as the duo were both named to the 2018 and '19 Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention teams. Collawn is a psychology major and will change her communication minor to a major with the extra semesters, while Lisella is able to add a business minor to her speech, language and hearing sciences major. She also has an education minor.

Players Mentioned

Anna Collawn

Julia Lisella

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